A Weapon's Requiem
by VampricHayles
Summary: It's about the Fire Nation kids growing up in general. I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I'm not trying to make a profit.
1. Chapter 1

From a room in the Royal Fire Academy For Girls, All could be heard was wapping against bare skin.

"I didn't mean to..." Mai trailed off, looking down, tear ducts filling up with heated water, and looking at the painful looking blood-red marks on her arms. One more hit.

"_Never _speak without being spoken to. You just did it _again_!!" Mai's teacher shouted at her. Mai couldn't take it anymore, she broke out in tears, and fortunately, the bell rang. She got up and was about to pick up her bookbag and leave, but her teacher caught her by the arm.

"I am going to talk to your parents after school today." She said sternly. Mai was still crying, and to make it worse, she ran into Prince Zuko, coming to Pick up his sister, Mai's friend, Princess Azula.

"Hey... Aren't you one of Azula's friends? Mai is it? What's wrong?" He asked sweetly, looking down at the sobbing Mai.

"Nothing.." She looked up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but calmed down when seeing the soothing face of Zuko. He smiled, and reached in his pocket. He pulled out a tissue, and handed it to her.

"Here you go." Without thinking, Mai hugged him slightly. Azula walked out of the school. She was talking to Ty Lee, and when she saw them hugging, she cleared her throat, obviously faking it to get their attention. Mai jumped back, looked at Zuko, and started to walk away.

"What was that?" Azula asked, trying to look innocent.

"What was what??" Zuko asked back, faking that entire statement.

"What you and Mai were doing, dum-dum.."

"Azula, It's called a '_hug'_ .." He scolded.

"Ah- Yeah I know that, idiot." She said bitterly, "I _meant_, what was it for?"

"None of your business, Azula." He said, sticking out his upper lip, grumpily. Azula made a scornful face at Zuko.

"Tell me, or I'm gonna tell mom that you were keeping secrets... _Or _I'll just ask Mai.." Azula smiled, and turned around, skipping, before abruptly stopping and saying, "Zuzu... Hurry up already..." With that, she ran up. Zuko stood there, somewhat dumbfounded for a second, but began running after her, and after a little while, caught up to Azula. His legs were obviously longer, which _allowed _him to run faster.


	2. Chapter 2

But Azula, of course, played dirty. She got close enough to him, and didn't cease to knock him on his butt. He pulled her sleeve before she could get anywhere, but she knew that he was going to do that, so she firebended, and burned his hand. He yelped, and got back up, gripping his hand tightly to keep it from bleeding.

When they ran past Mai's house, Zuko saw her on her porch, writing something, while her parents were walking out of the front door. He stopped, because he saw his mother walking down the road the opposite direction. Azula thought she was inside, so obviously, she ran inside looking for her mother.

"Mai, don't do anything bad while we're gone, do you understand me?"Mai's mother asked, looking Mai sternly in the eye.

"Yes, mother." Mai said, still remaining hunched over her homework, but looked up at her control-freak mother.

"Good.. Why don't you go over to play with Princess Azula, and Prince Zuko?" Her mother asked her.

"I'm finishing my homework. May I go over after I'm done?"

"Yes, Mai, that's fine." Her mother 'smiled.'

After that, Mai sat still, finishing her homework pages quickly, because she is the smartest kid in her class.

'Okay... 10 by the third power equals... 1,000. Easy!' She murmered under her breath.

"Yeah, I'm good at those too." Zuko appeared, silhouetted against the darkness of the evening lighting. Mai jumped, and she dropped her pencil. She was reaching down to pick it up, when she felt a warm hand brush over her own. She recoiled, and Zuko looked up at her, smiling, as he handed the tremendosely sharp pencil back to her. They waited a few moments, and Zuko asked,

"Where were your parents going in such a rush?... If you don't mind me asking..."

"Oh..Nowhere... I just got in trouble with my teacher today, at school, for speaking, out of turn, because a boy next to me sent me a note, saying that I was in love with...well...nevermind, and I told him to stop.." She mumbled, cheeks blazing red like the sunset.

"So.. As a result, I got extra homework..." She looked at her bookbag, shyly.

"Your teacher definately wasn't being impartial... And why... was that?"

"The boy is her son, and she thinks that he would never do anything wrong to any of his classamates..."

"Well...How much homework do you have...?"

"English, Mathmatics, Reading, History, Science... Practically every subject, but I'm done..."

"Wow. You must be really fast..."

"I suppose... Sorry to change the subject but, why were you chasing Azula earlier...?"

"Oh! That... No reason..!" He let his eyes drift off in another direction, blushing. Mai stood up, and inched closer to him. He cringed, and stepped back a little bit.

"Azula...burned you...didn't she...?" Mai said, looking downward at Zuko's hand, which was covered in bandages.

"Uh... Yeah she did..." He said, lifting his hand, and inspecting it. Mai grabbed his hand, and mumbled, "Do you mind if I look at it?"

"No.." He replied, as she unraveled the bandages to reveal a painful looking burn.

"I have peroxide, if you need it." Mai's eyes shifted into Zuko's, and he simply replied, "That...would be nice, please.." She let Zuko into her house with her, and escorted him to the bathroom. She got the peroxide out of the cabinet, and when she was just about to pour it on his hand over the sink, she heard someone come in.

"Who's there?"


	3. Chapter 3

No one answered. One thought crossed Mai's mind, as the menacing footsteps drew closer.

'I... forgot to lock the door...'

A few seconds passed in silence, until Mai took out a knife. She began to pour this red, disgusting, looking substance on the knife.

"It looks like strawberry jam... What is it?" Zuko whispered to the beautiful, raven-haired, 11 year old girl. The footsteps got louder, so Mai drew closer to Zuko, so she could speak more quietly to him, without the burgalar noticing.

"It's poison... most people think it's jelly, and lick it... I think you get the point..."Mai finished, rubbing her eye, anxious about the entire situation. The footsteps got entirely to close, so she flung the knife down the hallway, and the footsteps stopped. Both Mai, and Zuko's hearts pounded in unison. Out of nowhere, and unexpectedly, the knife flew into the door, barely sticking through the side of the door where the children were. But, it was just enough that the poison could drip through, and start to decompose and turn the wooden door inside out.

"Oh.. It was kimodo rhinoceros saliva...with some sort of red dye?" Zuko looked at the rotting wood, amazed, and relieved that that the door wasn't him . Mai didn't answer, she just sat awestruck because the saliva was dripping onto her hand. Zuko looked over, and saw it. The muscle was being torn in her hand, blood dripping everywhere, and a few of the bones being revealed. Mai screamed at the top of her lungs, nearly shattering the mirror. Ursa heard it, and ran across the street to Mai's house, to see the door wide open, and a man inside, holding Mai by the collar, and Zuko, on the floor, grabbing Mai's good hand, and breathing heavily. He got back up, and grabbed his knife, and charged at the man, screaming, "Don't choke her!" He dug the knife in the man's side, and grabbed Mai, scaring her half to death.

The guy stumbled backward a little bit, and Zuko ran out of the front door with his hand interlocked with Mai's. He ran outside to his mother, and showed Mai's hand to her.

"It looks quite painful... Are you alright, Mai?" Ursa asked, sweetly. Mai just looked up at the Princess.

"I'm fine..." Mai muttered, ashamed of being so weak. "I'm so sorry for all of the trouble..!!" Mai confessed, as she clamped her hands together, eyes squeezed shut, and bowing her head to the slightest degree.

"It was no trouble at all, Mai..." Ursa said, smiling at the subdued, frowning girl.


End file.
